The invention relates to dispensing closures for containers and, in particular, to dispensing closures for liquids.
Injection-molded thermoplastic closures are well-known in the package industry. A popular style of such closures is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,693,399, 4,936,494 and 5,330,082. These closures or xe2x80x9ccapsxe2x80x9d, typically, are arranged to screw onto a container and have one or more flaps for selectively closing and opening a dispensing aperture in an end wall extending across the mouth of the container. Generally, closures of this type are used for dry granular or particulate materials.
It is known to construct dispensing closures for liquids, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,503, but generally their designs have limitations in their utility and/or in the costs and ease of manufacture. Typically, the contents are dispensed by tilting the container fitted with the closure, although some applications can involve discharge of the contents where the container is squeezed or the contents are otherwise pressurized.
It is desirable that a liquid dispensing cap have a spout that gives directional control to the discharge stream and that projects from surrounding surface areas to reduce dribbling when dispensing flow is interrupted.
For economy of manufacture and convenience to the user, it is desirable that the flap or cover that closes the dispensing aperture be molded integrally with the main body of the cap and be connected to the body with an integral living or flexible hinge. For manufacturing economies, it is desirable that the flap be molded in a 90xc2x0 position relative to the end wall of the cap. This condition is preferred because a relatively large number of parts can, as a result, be molded in a press of a given size. An integral flap, a spout and a 90xc2x0 flap molding orientation have, until the present invention, been generally mutually incompatible features.
The invention provides an improved injection-molded one-piece dispensing closure or cap particularly suited for dispensing liquids from a container or bottle on which the cap is assembled. A disclosed cap, constructed in accordance with the invention, has an axially or vertically extending spout that offers directional control of a stream of liquid being dispensed when the container on which the cap is fitted is tilted and a drip resistant structure that reduces dribbling when the bottle is turned upright. The cap includes an integral flap carried on a living hinge. The flap has a projecting plug that fits into the spout with a fluid-tight seal. In a preferred configuration of the cap, an end wall that spans the mouth of the container and supports the dispensing spout is uniquely tilted or stepped from a horizontal reference plane, such as a plane represented by a sealing surface area of the cap that engages the mouth of a container. This inclined or stepped plane of the end wall surrounding the spout enables the cap to be practically molded with limited complexity in the tooling.